The National Landlords Association has just issued this plea for help, the content of which may also assist in preventing other landlords in the South of England falling prey to the same people.

Landlords suffer fraud in Southern England – can you help?

We have been asked by Surrey Police in Southern England to assist in letting landlords know about their investigation into substantial frauds, which have left several landlords with significant financial loss. Tracing those responsible will help prevent other landlords, maybe you, suffering similar frauds.

The fraudsters had secured tenancies in the Greater London/Surrey/Home Counties areas, under the following (false) names:

* MASSIMO LUIGI
* THOMAS JACOBSON
* DANNY ANTAR
* MICHAEL SHOUR
* MR HADOU
* MR DAWOOD
* MR DAUD

They could now be operating further afield and are aged 30 -35 years. One is black Afro Caribbean, and the other is White with short fair balding crew cut style hair, and possibly with a Canadian/American accent.

If you have now, or have had, tenants by any of the above names, please do not discuss this with them, but instead get in touch directly with Surrey Police. There may well be genuine tenants by those names, so it is important that the police have a dialogue with you, so they can assess properly whether any particular individual is in fact one of the above that they are looking for.